The present invention relates to carton board packages, and, more particularly, to such packages suitable for housing granular, powdered or other materials and which are reclosable and sift-resistant.
Reclosable cartonboard cartons for storing granular materials, such as powdered laundry detergents, have been available for many years. These cartons are typically formed from a cardboard which is laminated or coated with a moisture barrier material, such as polyethylene, polypropolyene, varnish or other barrier materials known in the art. Because the cardboard has a natural springback, the lids of these cartons tend to open thereby leading to contamination of the product and/or absorption of moisture by the product, both of which are undesirable. As such, the ability to repeatedly open and close/lock these cartons has long been a desirable property.
Some closure/locking systems have included various flap and tab interlocking arrangements in combination with perforation line, a known carton arrangement being illustrated as package 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2. Perforations 12 are broken by a user of the package 10 during the first opening, wherein the perforations 12 are typically disposed between the locking flap 14 and the tab 16. These closure arrangements generally require highly accurate folding and gluing steps during manufacture to achieve proper alignment between the locking flap 14 and the tab 16 and can cause difficulty to open the lid for the first time when the perforation are too hard to break. Further, during manufacturing and distribution, shifting of the product within the carton can cause buildup 18 (FIG. 2) of the product on the edge of the locking flap 14 resulting in spillage of the product 19 upon opening of the lid. When a carton is knocked, over (especially large capacity cartons), the lid is also prone to opening after the perforations have been broken.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a carton having locking and sealing features which eliminate the need for perforations, thereby simplifying use of the lid. Further, there exists a need to provide a carton which is easier to manufacture and which does not require highly precise folding and gluing steps during manufacture. Still further, there exists a need to provide a carton having improved closure arrangements which can prevent powder spillage upon the first opening and which better resist opening of the lid when a carton is knocked over. Yet further there exists a need to provide a carton which can accommodate multiple closure arrangements for improved resistance to accidental opening of the lid.
A sift-resistant recloseable package is provided which includes a container for storing a product and a lid attached to the container for closing the container. The container includes a first panel having at least one slot disposed therethrough and a cover which extends over the slot for preventing the sifting of the product through the slot. The cover is attached to the first panel. The lid has a downwardly depending flap with an extension attached thereto, wherein the extension engages the slot when the lid is in the closed position.